Category: Business

Good manners, good networking and good business all have the same thing in common. What they have in common is “you!” You are the secret weapon that everyone is looking for to help promote themselves effortlessly, enhance their communication skills, and more effectively network.

Sounds too easy, doesn’t it? It is easy! There is magic that will happen in both your professional and personal lives if you hone these skills. Once these skills are sharpened, you need to use these valuable tools daily.

How do you enter a room at a networking event? Do you look for a friend or acquaintance that you already know? Will you rush to the bar or head for the buffet table? Will you make the rounds and hand out your business card to everyone you see as quickly as possible? What plan do you have to make the most of your networking?

None of these aforementioned tactics will be very beneficial to you as a professional if you haven’t established any common ground or done anything to set yourself apart from the others at the event. What can you do that will make a lasting impression with everyone you meet? How can you set yourself apart from every other networker in the room?

I want you to enter every room as if it is your own personal party. You are the host or hostess. This must be firmly planted in your mind before you cross the threshold of a room and you cannot waiver. As the host or hostess, it is your job to make everyone in the room feel welcome, comfortable and accommodated.

You do this by following some basic, straightforward rules. Rule number one – as you enter a room, you must enter a circle of communication or start your own. Within this circle of communication, not only do you introduce yourself, you insure that everyone within the group has been introduced to the others within the circle. It is your job to do so as a host or hostess. As others pass by your circle of communication, take a small step back and open the walls of this group. You will bring others into this circle; do not forget to introduce them to the group.

When doing introductions, be clever and friendly. Use first and last names; for example, “John Smith of Smith’s Speedy Deliver, I would like you to meet Bob Jones of Jone’s Porta Potties. It looks like you both deal with emergency situations on a daily basis. You should have a lot to talk about.” Gently touch the arm of the person you are introducing. This will remind them to pay attention as well as help to create a more intimate relationship between the two of you. Don’t be concerned if your circle of communication becomes large. It only serves to create more conversation and have the others in the room want to enter, too. However, you do not stop at this successful group of networkers. You move on to others in the room and repeat this success. How else will everyone get to know how gracious you are as a person?

Rule number two – don’t be scared to touch. There is a huge difference between grabbing and gently steering. Gentlemen, offer your arm to a woman and escort her over to a group for networking. Women, take the hand or arm of a gentleman and steer him over to other attendees. Remember, you are the host. It is your job to introduce everyone in the room. You do this in an appropriate manner that is gentle and non-sexual in any fashion. Use your very best manners and show some poise. You can never go wrong if you consistently remind yourself of this. Be sure to let them know why and where you are guiding them. For example, “John, you need to meet Robert Smith of Successful Bank. He is very well connected within the business community and I know he will be a good contact for you.” Then take his arm or hand and transport him to his destiny of success and good contacts.

Rule number three – it is not your job to find out who can benefit by doing business with you at each contact. It is your job to offer your assistance to whomever you meet. There is nothing more offensive or unproductive than someone who attempts to make a sale with every contact they make. Do not approach others and say who you are, what you do and start listing all the ways you can change their lives. I promise you that you will be tuned out almost immediately. Those people will avoid you and not want to use your services in the future because you have been labeled a “wear out.” A “wear out” is a person who wears you down by going on and on about how awesome they are. Face it, people want you to know how amazing their business is. That is the bottom line.

What is the happy medium for rule number three? Again, good manners come into play. After exchanging introductions, it is your job to offer assistance to them in the future. You will have a brief introduction prepared that you use consistently, that sets you apart from others. After that introduction, you need to refrain from taking over the conversation. Your job is to stimulate but not dominate the conversation. Shake their hand. Make it a good firm handshake with two or three pumps. If it is in a noisy or crowded area, I suggest cupping the hand to insure a greater intimacy. Do a side cupping with your hand to prevent that “trapped” feeling for the recipient. Exchange business cards. Let the other person know that your only job is to help them be successful. Tune in to what their business is about and offer to help. For example, “Debra, it sounds like you’ve got an amazing talent for organizing, I come across others who need help organizing their files and offices on a weekly basis, may I share these leads with you in the future?” Do not ask for leads in return. The leads will happen in the future for several reasons. The main reason being that you will continue to keep in contact with everyone you’ve met this evening by personal notes, newsletters and emails. You are, again, exercising good manners.

Low cost business incentives are very attractive to those of us who want to venture into business with small amounts of funds. For them, small is better since it is manageable. The most promising feature of these small incentives is that, the gradually grow into very successful niche business or even corporations. So how can we get these smart business ideas to work for us? We need to have these ideas work for us.

How? It is simple; first, we need to identify what is the best business idea for a good business. There are quite a number to choose from; an agent for land lords, a hair-dresser, a gardener, a consultant and even a jobs bureau owner. These jobs are low cost incentives which just need a commitment to onset and transform to smart incentives which spread to establishments with branches across towns.

What are the other ideas that can form the best business ideas? Some business practices like online consultancy offer the most rewarding returns.

You can also take up e-bay as your market place. You can invest in some stocks based on what you are interested in selling and sell on e-bay. Amazon also offers a huge market pace for your business idea. With Amazon, you can sell books and other products the company sells. Apart from online business, the best business practices that one can easily engage in include forex trading, investing n stocks, setting up a writing company where you can sell news and photos and also service business whereby you sell your services.

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During the warm weather seasons, there is much which needs to be done. Some jobs can get quite frustrating. Mowing and landscaping are good business ideas when you want to make some extra money. Of course, there are a few things to take into account.

Our economy is not good. But, there are people who still do not enjoy the chores of spring and summer. If you are going to mow, it is essential to have a good running mower. You will need to make accommodations for the upkeep and gas and oil prices.

You will need to find work by either placing fliers around town or going door to door and speak with people. Mind you though, people truly do not like having their privacy bothered. So, it is probably better to put fliers on store fronts around town. You can make some colorful fliers with your capabilities and phone number. Do not quote prices until you have seen the job and have it in writing.

Your landscaping talents do not need to be extensive. When it comes to mowing, many people will hire professional ground keepers. But, you may be asked to remove or plant rosebushes, or trees. In this case, always remember to have everything in a contract so, that no misunderstandings occur. You do not want to do work for which you will not receive payment.

Remember to keep your blades sharpened. It is imperative to keep your tools in perfect working order. Always clean your mower, and any other tools as soon as you get home. Keep the oil chamber filled and the gas in an approved container. If you use a trailer to haul your equipment, take care of it, too.

Do not stretch yourself thin. Try to keep all jobs in a certain area on the same day. Keep a list of the times you are required to be at your destinations. If you are running late because of some misfortune, call your customers to let them know. If you notice anything askew on the grounds, report them immediately to your customer.

There are some easy ways you need to learn if you have a will to make a good business in the dental practice. These ways below will guide you in making the right decision to make this kind of business able to grow well. Besides that, you will be able to make your business get more benefits so your dental practice will be recognized in a good way. This article will give you more information about them so it is essential for you to check this out and take benefits from it.

First step you need to perform is purchasing dental equipment that takes an important role when you decide to run this kind of business. Then, you need to employ persons who will help your job and they can consist of hygienists, dental assistants and receptionists. You need to be sure that the employees you choose are well-qualified and trustworthy. If those are too many for you, you can employ both of them who are essential in helping your business.

After that, you need to do some promotions about your business. You can make advertisements in local publications or you need to put signs along streets. In this case, you can offer the special services and prices to make them interested. If you have more funds, you can make the advertisements in the radio or television. Besides that, you need to be sure that you have already had your license as a dentist so it can make easy your business because the license can show that you are reliable in this field.

A good business name is a company’s trademark. It is the label by which you make transactions with your customers. Moreover, it has both legal and marketing factors which must be highly regarded. Choosing the exact word or words that will summarize your entire business into one great label could be very challenging. In fact, most small business owners settle with their second or third choices as their first options are always taken. There are times though when entrepreneurs pursue the company name they want despite legal risks – infringement of intellectual property rights – just to get a ride of the wide recognition that already comes with it.

In the legal standpoint, a label that is non-descriptive makes a good business name. This could be the exact opposite of what the marketing standpoint demands. Description of business name is crucial in making your audience understand the nature of your products or services. This goes to show labeling your company needs the best efforts from your advertising and legal teams. While you take into consideration the interest of your customers in mind, you must think of your company’s safety too.

Now, let us now go to some details. In your aim to acquire instant recall, do not fall into the trap of playing too much with the words. Yes, your business could be easily remembered with the funny label that you created. However, customers may get confused of the real deal behind your clever label. When choosing business names, ensure that your pick sounds professional enough to gain the confidence of your prospective clients.

There was an era when people became big fans of abbreviations. This helped entrepreneurs somehow to communicate with ease. This works well for big companies up to this date. But for small business, abbreviations may just work the other way around. More often than not, big companies have already existed for many years. Whether abbreviated or spelled out, no one could miss on their names and the brands they represent. Small business would need more opportunities to prove in order to reach that level of recognition.

Moving forward, stay away from including words like ‘enterprises’, ‘global’ and ‘international’ especially if your company is just starting. Such can take your focus off your objective of specializing in a single product line or service first. You can opt for a name change once you are capable of offering what these big words imply.

Although your small business is operating in the local market, never confine your company name to your geographical name. You can actually include the city where your store could be found. Along with the opportunity to be in the directory list of local businesses by city, you will reap search engine optimization benefits if you are keeping a website to reach your market.

Last week I found a website on business preparedness launched by the SBA. The website indicates that roughly 40-60 percent of small businesses never reopen their doors following a disaster. They defined disaster as long-term power outages, hacker disruption, fire, earthquake or other catastrophes. I’m confident many of you reading this post have disaster recovery plans for your technology and maybe have addressed the other possibilities through insurance options.

Congratulations for your good business leadership skills. It made me think, though, that being prepared isn’t just about disasters. Yet we often focus our preparedness on dealing with disasters, should they occur, and not on the week-to-week or month-to-month preparedness that would be helpful to the business or our company.

I think good business leadership means being prepared for all eventualities. Here are some examples.

What happens if a key person in your organization leaves? Recently one of my clients had an employee leave who was the only person in her company who performed a certain critical task. In her words, “I feel like it’s Hiroshima.” She’s now hiring a replacement and intends to train three people to handle this role so she’s never so vulnerable again.

The same question relates to customers. What if your key customer/client leaves? Do you have enough business with others to weather the situation, or will you find yourself out of business? Consider hiccups that can arise with projects, such as delays, outcomes different than expected, or the project’s going totally awry. Even situations such as a family illness or emergencies, staff vacations or illness, and weather can play havoc if you are ill prepared or not prepared at all.

Don’t let your focus on disaster recovery interfere with running your company. Good business leadership is being prepared for any eventuality, disasters being just one of them.

Finding a good business mentor may not be the easiest task in the world. You know that to bring your business to the next level, you need a mentor that will teach you and point you in the right direction. But you might not know how to get the right person.

Not to worry though because I have put together an easy guide that you can follow that will make life much easier for you in your search for a business mentor.

First of all you need to focus on people that have the same values as you. You don’t want to get a mentor that doesn’t because that can cause big problems in the future.

Your mentor also needs to have lots experience and has their own successful business. No sense finding a mentor that is just as new to business as you are. You need to find someone who has their own successful business so that you can follow in their footsteps. Someone that has years of experience and has been trough most of the pitfalls that you will probably run into. This way they will be able to warn you so that you miss those pitfalls altogether. It can be a real struggle and scary to experience new things on your own. But finding a mentor that has experienced it all before can be of great comfort.

With the Internet, you are able to reach customers all around the world so it’s very important to know how to get your business marketed online. It’s not as easy as people think and there is right a way and a wrong way to go about it. Do you already have a website? If so, is it increasing your profits? Many businesses have an online presence that don’t make them any money. So in today’s world, finding a mentor that can teach you online marketing strategies is a must.

Another important thing to look for in a business mentor would be accessibility. Make sure that they are readily available to you. There is no point in getting a mentor that takes weeks to hear back from. So much can happen to your business in a matter of days never mind weeks.

So there you go – those are all the important things that you should look for when choosing a mentor. But one more thing before I let you go. I want to give you a tip on how you can speed up your search for a mentor. Use Google.

Yes Google them. Search their name on Google and see what they have been up to and what others are saying about them. That’s the beauty of the Internet. You can find things out about people and companies that you couldn’t easily find before.

So thoroughly check them out and make sure that the business mentor that you choose is one that meets all the criteria mentioned. This way you improve your chances of success.